Boston Celtics: 3 teams to root against at Disney World bubble games

Team to root against No. 3: Memphis Grizzlies

Easily one of the biggest storylines from the 2019-20 NBA season has been the amount of success the Memphis Grizzlies have found throughout the year.

Finishing 12th in the Western Conference standings in 2018-19, and after shipping off their two franchise centerpieces in Marc Gasol (delt right around the 2019 deadline) and Mike Conley (traded to Utah last offseason), coming into this year many analysts and basketball experts predicted the Grizzlies to have quite an underwhelming campaign and, with that, find themselves once again in the running for a high lottery pick like they did last year.

However, thanks in large to the excellence from their high lottery pick from last year, this has not turned out to be the “sure-fire” thing many expected it to be.

Through 65 games, Memphis currently finds themselves residing in the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a record of 32-33.

Led by Rookie of the Year candidate Ja Morant — 17.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep — the Grizz have managed to earn themselves a spot amongst the 22 eligible teams to participate in Orlando come late July and are one of the favorites to wind up making the postseason of those in the conference still vying for a final playoff spot — Portland, New Orleans, Sacramento, San Antonio, and Phoenix.

However, just because the oddsmakers deem them likely to make the playoffs, it doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee — after all, like we said earlier, they once saw them as a sure-fire lottery contender as well.

The reason why Boston Celtics fans should be rooting against Memphis’ playoff push is quite simple: if they miss out on the postseason, the Grizzlies will receive a better pick and, so long as it lands outside the top-6, said pick’s rights will belong to the Cs come draft night.

Better pick = higher chance of nabbing a great young talent in this upcoming draft — or more value for the pick in any future hypothetical trade talks.

Though they may not reside in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics and their fanbase have every reason to root against the Memphis Grizzlies for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.